Phoenix, Arizona – Eleven motorcyclists’ rights activists representing the National Coalition of Motorcyclists, the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, and four motorcycle clubs took time away from the NCOM annual convention to meet in a closed-door session to discuss differences and focus on common goals. 

With a joint willingness to acknowledge a tumultuous past but not allow the past to detract from the need to work toward the commonalities of mutually recognized issues effecting the future of motorcycling, the goals were quickly acknowledged and unanimously agreed upon: Profiling, Right to Repair, Renewable Fuels, Autonomous Vehicles, Emission Regulations, Definition of a Motorcycle, Crash Avoidance, support of SB 202 Internal Combustion Bill of Rights were accepted from the MRF’s 2023 top legislative goals.  

The issues that have historically divided NCOM and the MRF took more time to address. Once introductions were made, meeting moderator Kansas Tim, was clear with the direction the meeting needed to take during and after it adjourned.  

The pace of the closed-door, limited attendance meeting was motivated by a newly elected NCOM board of directors, plus organizational leadership’s willingness to meet.  Ground rules were quickly established when the moderator outlined a list of issues that suppressed trust and even prevented working together. Overcoming distrust was reviewed and addressed with mutual assurance that both MRF and NCOM would “pick up the phone” regularly instead of relying on emails and third-party communications. 

An agreement to encourage organization liaisons to attend meetings of respective leadership boards was also agreed upon. Welcome invitations to the respective board meetings would be forthcoming.  

Acknowledgement and attribution for an organization’s accomplishments provoked the most heated discussions. In a spirit of fostering a positive relationship between NCOM and the MRF, acknowledgement and attribution will continue to be a high-priority item for both NCOM and the MRF. 

Ending the meeting between the National Coalition of Motorcyclists and the Motorcycle Riders Foundation with a photo op and a mutual commitment to work together, words taken from the NCOM event program summed up that commitment: “forging relationships and fostering communications to present a united front against our common enemies and in support of common ground.”